Monumental Mission Accomplished

Apparently, if you post a notice at work a few weeks out that you plan on doing a hike, several people will join you.  Who knew?

9 of us set out this morning from Ohlone College and out to Mission Peak.  Right from the start we new it would be a fun day as the cows were not just down close to the trail, some were actually on it!  This was quite the treat for one of our hikers who absolutely loves cows!

the next big surprise, and only true challenge of the hike, besides the non stop inclines, was about a mile in, just past the first cow crossing section, where the usual small cow pond had swelled into a massive lake and engulfed the trail.  The trails were all closed recently and I could see why, but it looks like people had still been making their way through.  There is a very narrow, very muddy trail along the water and another temporary trail cut up the hill through the trees.  Most of us took the high road and kept our feet clean.

After almost two hours of steep inclines, we joined the crowds at the top and had a quick snack break.  Most of us decided to ditch the crowds and continue on to Monument Peak another 2 miles down the trail.  Once you descend Mission Peak, everything is much gentler and much less crowded.  We made it to Monument Peak and enjoyed another snack break and took in the views.  I had been up hear a few weeks ago, so when someone asked what the other smaller peaks around us were, especially the one below us that other small groups kept going to, I checked my GPS and discovered that was Monument.  We were on a taller unnamed peak!  So for our last challenge, dealing with my navigation skills!

We decended said unnamed peak, hiked up actual Monument Peak, enjoyed more lovely views and found survey markers confirming we finally reached our destination.  We then turned back and on the return trip decided to avoid the crowds a little longer by going around Mission Peak instead of back over it.  By the time we returned to the trailhead, our 7 mile hike had turned into 12 a few of my coworkers have now joined the Six Pack of Peaks challenge!

Next months group hike, Black Mountain!